Automatic forging machine



Oct. 11, 1932. H F. JOHNSON AUTOMATIC FORGING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed March 10, 1928 Oct. 11, 1932. H. F. JOHNSON AUTOMATIC FORGING MACHINE Filed March 10, 1928 I5 SheetsSheet 3 I-n v 6 lif 3? Patented Get. 11, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOWARD F. JOHNSON, OIF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE CHAMPION MACHINE & FORGING COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO AUTOMATIC FOBGING MACHINE Application filed March 10, 1928. Serial No. 260,630.

This invention relates to an automatic forging, machine.

The manual production of forgings greatly increases the cost of the same because of the necessity of employing skilled labor and also because of the time period required for the forging operation. In View of these disadvantages automatic forging machines have been designed, heretofore, but these machines have all been unwieldly, complicated, expensive to produce, and so slow in their action that the temperature of the blank falls below forging heat before the completion of the forging operation.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a machine which will automatically do the work now performed manually and thereby dispense with considerable skilled labor otherwise necessary.

Another object is to provide an automatic forging machine which will perform the various forging operations upon the blank in a minimum time and during the period within which the blank remains at forging heat.

Another object is to provide an automatic forging machine which will reduce the amount of stock ordinarily lost as scrap.

Another object is to provide an automatic forging machine which is simple in operation, is composed of a relatively few number of parts, and affords accessibility for the changing of the cam and dies and the repairing of operative parts.

Additional objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

The invention may be briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts which will be described in the specification and pointed out in the appended claims.

An embodiment of the invention is illus-.

trated in the accompanying drawings, wherem Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the machine and the relationship which it bears to the furnace, portions being shown in sec tion- Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional View taken on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the machine,

portions of which are broken away to disclose certain of the elements in section;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the machine, the left hand portion of which is shown in transverse vertical section; and

Fig. 6 is a detail of a form of construction of the cylinder and piston arrangement for operating the horizontal dies.

The automatic forging machine is adapted to be arranged in front of and closely adj acent to a suitable furnace for heating the stock. As shown this furnace may comprise a heating chamber 1 within which the bars of stock 2 are arranged upon longitudinally spaced transversely extending water cooled pipes 8. These pipes not only extend transversely of the heating chamber but are arranged therein at an angle, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the bars of stock will roll downwardly and engage against upstanding lugs 4 arranged on the pipes at their lower ends. These pipes, therefore, constitute supporting skids for the stock, and as each bar of stock adjacent to the lugs 4 is completely withdrawn from the heating chamber the bars of stock will move by gravity into position for the next-succeeding bar to be pushed outwardly of the furnace. Any suitable means may be utilized for imparting this outward pushing movement to the bar of stock as, for example, the pneumatic ram arranged upon the support 5 at the rear of the furnace comprising an air cylinder 6 and a plunger 7 having one end serving as a piston slidably actuated in the cylinder and its opposite end engaging the rear end of the bar of stock lying adjacent to the upstanding lugs 4 on the pipes 3. The plunger 7 passes through a suitable opening 8 in the rear of the furnace and is supported inits movement upon the rearmost pipe 3 after the bar of stock has been pushed forwardly therefrom. This plunger, by its forwardmovement, projects the bar of stock outwardly a suflicient distance through an opening 9 in the front of the furnace for the forging machine to initially engage the same at apoint rearwardly of its outer end approximating the length of the blank to be forged. The furnace is also provided at its forward end and adjacent to the opening 9 with a chuck 10 formed of spring jaws and adapted to engage the bar of stock so as to position and support the end thereof in the forging machine. Lt is not necessary for the plunger 7 of the pneumatic ram to project the bar of stock any further from the furnace than is required for the initial engagement thereof by the forging machine, because after such initial engagement has been effected the stock is withdrawn the desired distance during each cycle of operation by the forging machine.

The specific construction of the furnace and the means used for furnishing the heat thereto is not a material part of this invention, it being understood that any suitable construction and means maybe used provided the furnace is susceptible of cooperating with the machine in the manner hereinafter set forth.

As already stated, the forging machine is arranged in front of the furnace, the relative locations of each, however, should be such that only a small amount of the bar of stock is situated between the ends of the chuck 10 and the dies of the machine. As illustrated in 1, the chuck 10 [actually extends into a portion of the machine but, of course, the construction could be so modified as to alter this arrangement. j

The forging machine comprises a base 11 extendinglongitudinally away from the front of the furnace and having upstanding spaced parallel flanged portions 12 adjacent to but arranged inwardly from its opposite ed es. These portions form together with the base a track or guideway within which the machine is adapted to have horizontal movement toward and away from the furnace. The base 11 also has adjacent one of its longitudinal edges a pair of spaced parallel upstanding lugs 13 adapted to receive a. pivot upon which a link and lever arrangement, later to be described, may be pivoted. An upwardly extending substantially tubular standard or support 14 is movably mounted on the base by means of rollers 15 carried by a shaft 16 arranged at the lower enlarged end of such supportor standard and adjacent the for ward and rearward sides thereof. These rollers or guides are confined in their movements by the guideways formed by the flange portions 12 of the base.

The head of the forging machine is formed with two vertically extending legs and two horizontally extending legs, the lower downwardly extending leg 17 of which houses certain of the die elements and is slidably telescoped within the support or standard 14:, while the upwardly extending vertical leg 18 forms a housing for the corresponding opposed die elements. The horizontally e2:-

tending legs 19 and 20 of the head carry the horizontally operating dies of the machine. Vertically reciprocable opposed edging dies 21 and filtering dies 22 are arranged in the legs 17 and 18 of the head, these dies being spaced longitudinally of the machine with the edging dies 21 adjacent to the furnace. Each of these dies is operated by a constant a1r pressure and comprises a substantially tubular movable portion 28 carrying the die at L its inner end and having an outwardly extending flange 24 on one side of its outer open end. The piston 25 through which extends an air supply pipe 26 passes into the member 28 through its outer open end, its position being fixed. The legs 17 and 18 are each provided with a transversely extending partition 27 separating the respective dies and forming one side of the guiding means therefor while theoutside walls of the legs 17 and 18 have outwardly extending flanges 28 adjacent their outer ends and inwardly extending flanges 29 adjacent their inner ends, these last named flanges being of a length equal to the length of the flange 24 on the members 23 and also serving as a guide for such members. Slots 30 are also provided in the opposite sides of the walls of the vertically extending legs of the head, for a purpose later to be described.

A cap member 31 is secured to the flanges 28 of each leg and serves to support the pistons 25 which pass therethrough and are held in position by means of nuts 32 threaded thereon. I

The horizontal legs 19 and 20 are substantia'lly tubular and have slidably arranged therein rams 33 which are cored centrally for a portion of their length to receive a station ary piston 34 carried by a cap-plate 34 secured to the ends of the horizontal portions. These rams are not operated under constant air pressure but are adapted to build up their own pressure as they are reciprocated backwardly and forwardly over the piston, as is well understood in the art. The inner end of each ram is mortised to receive the tenon 35 of a die having four die impressions vertically a'rranged on its face, which impressions consist in the present instance of the edging die 36, finishing die 37, the filtering die 38 and the cut-off 39. Suitable closure plates may be provided for the sides or other parts of the legs wherever necessary or desirable.

The means by which the vertically moving dies, the horizontally moving dies and the vertical movement of the head, as well as the horizontal movement of the machine, are operated or effected will now be described.

Extending inwardly toward the furnace from the head and carried thereby are a plurality of pins 4L0 upon which are mounted rollers l1 having spaced flanges 12. Rotatably supported upon these rollers and'retained in position by the flanges is an open cam wheel 43 having on its exterior circumference an external gear 44, a cam groove 45 and a cam rib 46. The internal circumference of the cam wheel is provided with internal cam ribs 47, 48 and 49. Each of the internal cam ribs is so formed that it will have identical configuration for each half of the circumference of the cam wheel, thereby enabling the same rib to simultaneously actuate the opposed vertical or horizontal dies. Suitably supported upon the head is a motor or other source of power 00 operating the pinion 51 which in turn meshes with the external gear 44 of the cam wheel and effects the rotation thereof. It should be understood that the ratio between the pinion and the gear 44 may be varied to suit different conditions as desirable.

The vertical legs 17 and 18 each have a hollow shaft 52 rotatably journalled in suitable bearings 53 on diagonally opposite sides of the head and another shaft 54 independ ently rotatable within the shaft 52. These shafts extend longitudinally of the machine, the shaft 54 having a forked roller supporting lever 55 keyed to one end and the shaft 52 being likewise provided with a similar lever 56. Each of these levers carries rollers 57 and 58, respectively, which bear against the internal cam ribs 47 and 48. The shaft 7 52 has an outwardly extending arm 59 at its other end upon the top of which a roller 61 is carried by a pin 60 fixedly secured there to. The shaft 54 is similarly provided atits other end with an arm 62 and a roller 63. The pins carried by the arms 59 and 62 extend inwardly through the slots 30 in the sides of the legs 17 and 18, while the rollers engage the underside of the flanges 24 formed on the dies 21 and 22. Since these dies are under constant air pressure it is apparent that when the arms are so moved by the ro tation of the shafts that the rollers will be in engagement with the flanges, the dies may be retained in inactive position but that as soon as the cont-our of the cam ribs 47 and 48 changes and the levers 55 and 56 are rocked in the proper direction to move the arms 59 and 62 toward the center of the head that the dies will then be free to move under the air pressure into active engagement with the bar of stock. As previously mentioned the ribs have the same contour for each 180 of the cam wheel so that the opposed dies may be operated simultaneously.

Extending longitudinally of the machine and at diagonally opposite sides of the head are shafts 64 in suitable bearings 65 which have keyed thereto at one end forked roller supporting levers 66 and at the other end roller supported arms 67, the levers 66 having rollers adapted to bear on the cam rib 49 upon opposite sides of the circumference of,

the same. The arms 67 carry at their free end rollers 68 which project through openings in the sides of the portions 19 and 20 of the head and engage within slots formed in the rams 33. Thus, as the contour of the cam rib 49 causes the levers 66 to oscillate, the shafts 64 will in turn be rocked and the rollers 68 will effect reciprocation of the rams and the horizontal dies will strike the blank v In a bearing 69 formed at the outer end of the portion 20 a shaft 70 is arranged to extend longitudinally of the machine. This shaft has keyed thereto at one end an arm 71 supporting a roller 72 at its free end, which is adapted to engage the external cam rib 46. The shaft 7 0 has a lever 7 3 keyed thereto at its other end which in turn is connected to a bell crank lever 74 through a link 75. The bell crank 74 is pivotally supported at the junction of its arms upon a pin 76 extending between outstanding spaced flanges 77 formed on the standard or support 14. The inwardly extending arm 74a of the bell crank passes through ali formed in the side of the standard 14 and the leg 17 of the head and carries a roller 78 at its inner end adapted to engage the underside of a rib 79 formed beneath the die carrying portion of the-leg 17. Thus when the rotation of the cam wheel causes the cam rib 46 to oscillate the arm 71 the bell crank will be oscillated through the linkage just described and the entire head raised or lowered.

Upon the rear side of the machine a bracket 80 carries a pin 81 pivotally supporting a lever 82 which is forked at 83 and 84. The pivotal connection of this lever to the bracket is intermediate its upper and lower ends with the fork 83 at the upper end thereof embracing a horizontally and longitudinally extending lever 85, being connected thereto with a lost motion connection formed by the slot 86 and pin 87. The opposite end of the lever is turned at an angle and carries a roller 88 engaging in the external cam groove 45. The lower end of the lever 82 is connected to one end of a horizontally extending lever 89 which has its other end arranged between thelugs 13 formed on the base 11 and pivotally secured thereto by means of a pin 90. It is apparent thatthe rotation of the cam wheel will cause the lever 85 to reciprocate, in turn rocking the lever 82 and moving the machine backwardly and forwardly, with respect to the furnace, upon the rollers 15 arranged in the guideways of the base.

The operation of the machine will now be described, it being presumed that a suitable amount of the stock has been placed in the furnace, heated and one bar thereof projected outwardly through the opening 9 and the chuck 10 by the plunger 7 of the ram 6 into position for the initial engagement by the ma chine. The motor 50 being started and the cam wheel 43 revolving, the lever 85 will be gned openings moved so that the machine will move horizontally toward the furnace until the edging dies 21 are over the end of the bar of stock projecting from the furnace. The cam rib 49 is then in such position that the levers 55 and the shafts 52 are moved which in turn swing the shafts and rollers 59 and 61 downwardly allowing the air pressure within the edge dies 21 to move the same toward the bar of stock and strike the first edging blow a sufiicient distance from the end for the proper length of the forging. The dies 21 retain their grip on the stock while the external cam groove 45 causes the lever 85 to move in the opposite direction and the machine to move horizontally away from the furnace thus withdrawing the stock therefrom a distance equal to the length of the forging to be made. At this time the cam rib 47 through the associated mechanism causes the roller 61 to move the dies against the air pressure out of engagement with the stock. The cam rib 49 now oscillates the lever 67, and the rams 33 are thus moved inwardly toward the stock so that the edging impressions 36 on the dies carried by the rams will engage the stock to strike the second edging impression. The rams then return to their normal position while the lever 85 is reciprocated by the cam groove 45 to move the machine toward the furnace and the bell crank 74 is rocked through its linkage by the external cam rib 46 to move the machine vertically thus bringing the filtering dies 22 and the filtering impressions 38 on the dies carried by the rams into the proper position to strike the first two filtering blows.

The filtering dies 22 are now projected so as to strike the first filtering blow, it being understood that their projection is permitted by the oscillation of the shaft 54 and the roller carryinglevers 56 as the contour of the cam rib 48 varies. The filtering dies 22 are then returned to their normal position while the movement of the cam wheel causes the rams to move inwardly so that the dies carried thereby will strike the stock at the filtering impressions 38 and effect the second filtering blow. The rams return to their retracted position and the lever 85 is again moved by the cam wheel and the machine moves horizontally away from the furnace until it is in osition to strike another series of filtering blows. The cam mechanism now allows the vertically movable filtering dies 22 to strike their second filtering blow after which they return to their normal position. while the rams 33 are again moved forward and the filtering impressions 38 of the dies carried thereby strike their second filtering blow. The machine is now moved horizontally and the filtering dies are in proper position for their third and last filtering blow. The filtering dies 22 now strike their last filtering blow and then the rains 33 again move inwardly causing the filtering impressions 38 on the dies to impart their last filtering blow to the stock.

Again the machine moves horizontally and vertically until the finishing impressions 37 on the dies carried by the rams are in proper position for striking two finishing blows in succession, after which the machine moves horizontally and vertically until the cut-oif impressions 39 of the horizontal dies are in position for the cut-off blow which is then struck, the rams returning to normal position and the machine moving horizontally and vertically to its position at the start of the operation so that it may start and form a second forging.

The arrangement of the forging machine closely adjacent to the front end of the furnace enables the stock to be projected directly therefrom into the machine thus doing away with the necessity of the manipulator device commonly found on automatic forging machines. In the type of forging machine utilizing the manipulator device the bar of stock is completely withdrawn from the furnace. This fact, coupled with the slow operation of the prior machines of'this type, allows the stock to cool quickly before the completion of the forging operations. The present machine'besides being'faster in its operation than the earlier machines operates upon the stock while a large part thereof is still within the furnace, thus forging heat is maintained throughout the operation since the blank retains its heat longer because of heat conduction from the part remaining in the furnace.

Heretofore, a large proportion of the stock has been wasted because of the necessity of providing a tong-hold for the manipulator device. In fact, the amount of stock lost be cause of the tong-hold has been about 2 inches in every 18 inches of stock. In the present machine the continuous bar of stock being fed into the machine from the furnace and the close proximity of the machine to the front end of the furnace together with the arrangement of the chuck, reduces this lfoss to approximately 4 inches inevery 12 eet.

The entire head of the present machine is demountable upon the removal of the pins connecting several of the link connections, thus permitting the head to be removed from the shop to the toolroom for the changing of the cam, dies or the replacement of other parts.

In Fig. 6 is shown a modified construction for the legs 19 and 20 and the rams 33. Each of the legs may be provided with a vent 91 in one side while the rams 33 will have smaller vents 92 registering with the vents 91 in certain positions of the rams. The air within the cylinders in the rams will be at atmospheric pressure when the rams are fully projected and the dies carried thereby are in engagement with the stock, since the vents 91 and 92 will be in registry. As the rams move backwardly the air is forced out of the cylinders through the vents until the vents 92 pass over the piston 34- which carries piston rings. The pistons and rings act as valves to prevent escape of air through the vents 92, thus compressing the air in the remaining space between the piston and the rams. Then the rams are released for their forward movement this air pressure causes them to move rapidly until the dies carried thereby strike the stock. As the movement of the rams is of such s eed that the'space between the cylinders and the pistons enlarges proportionately faster than air can 2c admitted througn the vents 92, a partial vacuum is created in the cylinders. The dies in striking the Work have a certain amount of rebound but this partial vacuum will increase such rebound, thus helping to overcome the sticking of the forgings to the nice.

Although certain sequences of operation have been specifically mentioned, it should be understood that such sequences may be changed, and the amount of the horizontal and vertical movements of the machine as well, by the substitution of different cams.

While a preferred form of the invention has been disclosed, it is not to be understood as limited thereto, since it is susceptible of such modifications and adaptations as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An automatic forging machine adapted to be arranged adjacent to a furnace to receive the stock directly therefrom comprising a support adapted to move toward and away from the furnace, a head carried by said support and adapted to have vertical movement relative thereto, a plurality of sets of opposed dies operably carried by said head, a cam wheel, and means connecting said support, said head, and each of said sets of opposed dies with said cam wheel, whereby they may be moved or operated in predetermined sequence.

2. An automatic forging machine adapted to be arranged adjacent to a furnace to receive the stock directly therefrom comprising a stationary base, a support movable on said base toward and away from the furnace, a head carried by said support and movable vertically relative thereto, a plurality of sets of opposed dies operably carried by said head, a cam wheel, means operatively connecting said support, said head, and each of said sets of opposed dies with said cam wheel, and means for actuating said cam wheel whereby said support, head and sets of dies will be operated or moved in predetermined sequence. 7 I

3. An automatic forging machine adapted to be arranged adjacent to a furnace to re ceive the stock directly therefrom comprising a support adapted to be moved toward and away from the furnace, a head adapted to be vertically moved independently of the support, a plurality of opposed sets of dies operably carried by said head, a cam wheel rotatably carried by said head provided with a plurality of external and internal cam ribs and grooves, means operatively connecting said support, head and sets of opposed dies I with various of the cam ribs and grooves on the cam wheel, and means for rotatlng said cam wheel to move said support and head and cam wheel carried by said head provided with an external cam groove and a plurality of external and internal cam ribs, means connecting said support and the external cam groove of said cam wheel for imparting movement to said support, means connecting said head to one of said cam ribs for imparting vertical movement thereto relative to said support, and means connecting each of said sets of opposed dies to various of the cam ribs for controlling actuation thereof. 5. An automatic forging machine comprising a head, a plurality of sets of opposed vertically operable dies therein, a pair of opposed horizontally slidable rams carried by said head and provided with a die at their inner ends, said sets of vertically operable dies being under constant air pressure and said pair of opposed rams adapted to form their own air pressure during their outward movement, means for moving said vertically operable dies against the constant air pressure and to retain the same in such position, means for moving said rams outwardly and retain them in such position against the air pressure built up by such movement, and means for releasing each of said last two named means to allow the vertically operable dies or the rams to move inwardly in predetermined sequence.

6. In combination, a furnace for heating bars of stock and having means for project ing an endof a bar of stock through the front end of the furnace, and a forging machine comprising means for moving the machine as a unit from a position closely adjacent the front of the furnace to a position spaced therefrom a distance equalto the'length of a single forging, stock engaging dies, means for moving said dies into working and gripping engagement with the projecting bar of stock a blank length inwardly of its end, and means for correlating the machine moving means and the die moving means whereby the dies engage the stock at the inner position of the machine and maintain such engagement during the outward movement thereof to withdraw the stock a blank length.

7 In combination, a furnace for heating bars of stock and having means for projecting an end of a bar of stock through the front end of the furnace, and a forging machine comprising means for moving the ma chine as a unit from a position closely adjacent the front of the furnace to a position spaced therefrom a distance equal to the length of a single forging, stock en aging dies, means for moving said dies into working and gripping engagement with the projecting bar of stock a blank length inwardly of its end, means for correlating the machine moving means and the die moving means whereby the dies engage the stock at the inner position of the machine and maintain such engagement during the outward movement thereof to withdraw the stocka blank length, means for performing successive forging operations upon the l ngth of stock between the end of the stock bar and said dies, and means for detaching the completed forging from said bar.

,8. An automatic forging machine adapted to forge a blank in successive stages while the blank is connected to a stock bar that is stationarily held during the forging operation, comprising a support mounted for movement longitudinally of the bar, means for so moving the support, a die head on said support including a plurality of sets of opposed dies spaced longitudinally of the bar and a set of opposed dies operating at an angle to said first mentioned sets of dies, means for operating all of said sets of dies, a timing device, and means connecting said moving means and said operating means to said timing device whereby said several sets of dies will be automatically operated in predetermined succession and said support will be automatically moved to align said several sets of dies with the blank.

9. An automatic forging machine adapted to forge a blank in successive stages while said blank is connected to a stock bar that is stationarily held during the forging op eration, comprising a support mounted for movement longitudinally of the bar, means for so moving the support, a die head mounted on said support for movement transversely of the bar, means for so moving said head, said head including a plurality of sets of opposed dies spaced longitudinally of the stock bar and a plurality of sets of opposed dies spaced transversely of the bar, means for operating all of the sets of opposed dies, a timing device, and means operatively connecting both of said moving means and said operating means with said timing device whereby said several sets of dies will be automatically operated in predetermined se quence and'said support and head will be automatically moved to align said several sets of dies with the blank.

10. An automatic forging machine adapted to forge a blank in successive stages while said blank is connected to a stock bar stationarily held during the forging operation, comprising a support mounted for movement longitudinally of the bar, means for so moving the support, a die head on said support including a plurality of sets of opposed dies spaced longitudinally of the stock bar and a set of opposed dies operating at an angle to said first mentioned sets when the same are retracted, means for severally operating each of said sets of opposed dies, a timing device, and means connecting said moving means and said operating means to said timing device whereby said several sets of dies will be automatically operated in preoetermined succession and said support will be automatically moved to align said several sets of dies with the blank.

11. An automatic forging machine adapted to forge a blank in successive stages while said blank is connected to a stock bar that is stationarily held during the forging operation, comprising a support mounted for movement longitudinally of the bar, means for so moving the support, a die head mounted for vertical movement on said support, means for so moving said head, said head including a plurality of sets of opposed dies spaced longitudinally of the stock bar and a plurality of sets of opposed dies spaced transversely of the stock bar and adapted to operate on the blank when the first named sets are retracted, means for severally operating all of said setsof opposed dies, a timing device, and means connectingboth of said moving means and said operating means to said timing device whereby said several sets of dies will be automatically operated in predetermined sequence and said support and head will be automatically moved to align the several sets of dies with the blank.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aiiix my signature.

HOWARD F. JOHNSON. 

